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This guide aims to reinforce the legal and ethical issue of making dress and appearance exceptions in the military due to religious, cultural and medical reasons to leadership in the Air Force. As a supervisor in the military and a member myself I am expected to follow the dress and appearance standards and enforce them. The dress and appearance standards apply military wide, regardless of rank  with each branch following their specific version, so it is important we have a good understanding of them as well as ethics around them. This is important as a supervisor in the military because we may have troops who need an exception to the standards. We need to know what qualifies them for exceptions and documentation is needed such as a waiver and the policies. We also need to ensure that having an exemption will not affect their treatment, career progression or awards.

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In recent years there have been more exceptions to dress and appearance standards and even changes to the standards themselves to become more accommodating. As exceptions are allowed under the right circumstances some have struggled to maintain them or have negative outcomes from them. In recent years additions to religious accommodations have been added to the standards, though no definitive change has been made to allowing beards though there have been talks in congressional hearings. Many have come out to defend the authorization of beards to include the amount of males requiring a medical waiver, rebutting the notion that they hinder a gas mask seal, and revealing how other countries are authorized and remain professional. As diversity grows and top Air Force leaders change and make decisions the standards can continue to change, as leaders we need to refer to the most updated guidance. The ethical concerns come from those who have suffered repercussions from obtaining these exceptions although they were authorized. This issue is becoming more prevalent in recent years with diversity in the DOD and more vocalization about the need for medical waivers for the dress and appearance standards. Men in the military are required to be clean shaven though many are obtaining shaving waivers due to pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) especially in black males. With more members seeking an exception whether it is a temporary waiver or a more permanent exception there have been more stories of backlash in various forms. When airmen see negative consequences to an authorized exception, this unfair treatment causes a loss of motivation; they do not want to work somewhere they are not supported.

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The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to protecting the first amendment specifically for service members. They provide legal support for military and military related services concerning religious freedom and advocates for impartiality from service leaders. In 2014 the foundation shared an article titled “Pentagon eases rules on waivers for religious grooming” which allowed for certain expressions such as beards and turbans with religious practices. The foundation's president shared his concerns over the decision being misused. This change was benefitting non-Christians, and he did not want Christians or others to use it for an unintended purpose or for it to cause a bias within leaders toward troops.

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Military Religious Freedom Foundation. (2014, January 23). 1/23/14 stars and stripes - pentagon eases rules on waivers for religious grooming. Military Religious Freedom Foundation. https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2014/01/12314-stars-and-stripes-pentagon-eases-rules-on-waivers-for-religious-grooming/ 

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In an article written by the Military Times (Ceder, 2024) there is a great example of real issues males are facing when it comes to having authorized shaving waivers. A soldier of 18 years in the army faced discrimination and lost a promotion from speaking out about his beard due to his shaving waiver. The leaders in this article had different reactions though led to an unethical outcome.

Sgt Parker had a medical accommodation for shaving, shortly after being approved for a first sergeant position, he went on social media to show off his command photo with his beard.

Although his beard was within regulation that's required when having a beard, he was reprimanded for flaunting his beard on social media.

His command then told him he needed to shave his beard and retake the photo despite having a medical waiver.

Days later higher command told Sgt Parker that his post was not out of line and ok. Parker made another post sharing how he wishes to advocate for those on a profile that wish to progress. He had believed the matter was settled though soon after he was informed that the position was no longer available, and he was being resigned to another position.

Sgt Parker has accomplished many achievements, had a good record and was following all regulations according to the dress and appearance standards for the Army.

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Ceder, R. (2024, May 16). Soldier says he lost a leadership position due to his Beard. Military Times. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2024/05/16/soldier-says-he-lost-a-leadership-position-due-to-his-beard/ 

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An article written by the Air & Space Forces Magazine (Roza, 2024) highlights a potential solution to push for beards with a trial plan and recognizes the clear drawbacks to those holding a medical waiver for a beard.

Congressman Marc Veasey brought before lawmakers a package that included a 3-year trial program for both Air and Space Force to be authorized beards.

He inquired about their policies, the awareness of the skin conditions airmen deal with shaving, their knowledge on the effect it has on airmen's careers.

Through this program they hope to evaluate the current judgements for not allowing beards in uniform. The hope is to identify any biases or negative perceptions.

With the last CMSGT of the Air Force, she repealed some policies making it easier to obtain shaving waivers that led to an increased use.

A study in 2021 found that those with shaving waivers suffered career progression and were less likely to land high profile jobs. As there are more commonly black males who suffer from the skin condition, they face more discrimination, this causes our forces to miss out on talented and skillful leaders who could be in these roles.

A study was mentioned from 2018 that was done to refute common arguments against them. 98% of those in the study completing a gas mask fit test with 1⁄8 inch of facial hair had a good gas mask seal and there is no scientific evidence that has shown that they would not allow a seal.

One military doctor added that they hope to show that facial hair does affect professionalism and the program can minimize turnover rates.

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Roza, D. (2024, May 22). Beards for airmen? House panel proposes Air Force Trial Program. Air & Space Forces Magazine. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-beards-trial-program/ 

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Slide # 6 Constitutional Law- 1st Amendment 

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Slide # 6 Constitutional Law- 1st Amendment 

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The 1st amendment states congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. They also shall not suppress the freedom of speech, press, right to assemble, and make complaints to the government to petition for change.

The first amendment prohibits the government from establishing a religion for the nation or requiring a practice on its citizens.

The government should remain impartial with religious matters and not sponsor churches or religious functions.

The other part of the law is the government shall not prohibit the practicing of religion

Freedom of speech prohibits the government from restricting viewpoints, or ideology as long as it is not threatening or harmful.

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Slide #7 Federal Statutory- UCMJ; Religious Apparel: Wearing Wile in Uniform

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Slide #7 Federal Statutory- UCMJ; Religious Apparel: Wearing Wile in Uniform

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A member of the armed forces may wear religious apparel while in uniform

The religious appeal may be prohibited in uniform if it hinders military performance or if it is not neat and conservative

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10 USC §774   https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/774

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Slide #8 Judicial Law- Singh v. McConville

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Slide #8 Judicial Law- Singh v. McConville

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In 2016 a lawsuit was filed for 3 Sikh soldiers- Singh, Singh, Ghotra against the Department of the Army due to the Army’s regulations on dress and appearance which did not allow for beards, unshorn hair or turbans which is a part of the Sikh faith

There are close to 100K soldiers with medical exemptions for beards.

Each of these soldiers had significant skills to contribute to the Army such as fluency in multiple languages, high exam scores and prior defense experience.

The plaintiffs alleged discrimination based on their request for religious accommodation and the defendants seeking to exclude Sikhs from the military service.

This lawsuit led to the Army ending its 30-year ban on beards and developing new regulations for religious exceptions that include turbans, beards, and unshorn hair.

In this case the soldier’s rights were protected by the RFPA, although military service more standards and less freedoms than the civilian workforce under the RFPA and first amendment there was not reasonable cause to not allow for the accommodation because it would not cause an hinderance to military duty.

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Singh V. McConville, 187 F. Supp 152 (D.C 2016)        	 Singh V. McConville. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.becketlaw.org/case/singh-v-mcconville./      https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2016cv0581-46                  	 

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Slide #9 Administrative- DoD Instruction 1300.17

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Slide #9 Administrative- DoD Instruction 1300.17

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This policy aims to accommodate individuals with sincere beliefs that will not influence military readiness, good order and discipline or health and safety.

Interference with military duty can include the safe operation of weapons, machinery, military equipment, a health or safety hazard to themselves or others, interferes with protective gear, or hinders the mission in some way.

The expression of a sincere belief may not be used for the basis of adverse personal action, discrimination, denial of promotion, schooling, or training.

This policy applies DOD wide and supports the 1st amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Request for exemption for religious purposes can include apparel, grooming or medical practices.

Each military service is responsible for developing a process for review and action for accommodation of religious practices that services members can submit.

Under exigent circumstances a commander can suspend or modify the accommodation for the minimum time necessary.

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Department of Defense (DOD) Instruction 1300.17 DOD Religious Liberty in the Military Services, 1 Sep. 2020          https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/130017p.pdf

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Slide #10 Administrative Law- AFI 36-2903 Dress and Personal Appearance

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Slide #10 Administrative Law- AFI 36-2903 Dress and Personal Appearance

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Beards are only authorized through medical or religious exemption

Medical exemption has to be cleared through the medical office and still needs to be trimmed not to exceed ¼ inch

Members still need to present a clean and professional image and not shape, style or color their beard

Beards with a religious accommodation may not exceed 2 in. in bulk from the neck, chin, or cheeks. Members may use conservative accessories to hold their beard in place

Males may have a mustache in uniform that cannot go beyond the corners of the mouth horizontally and does not go more than ¼ in. vertically

With religious accommodation a mustache is authorized that goes beyond corners of the mouth and connects with the beard

With religious accommodation members may wear hijabs that are fire-resistant & OCP pattern, they must be neat, conservative and not interfere with duty

Accommodated members are also authorized turbans and under turbans that blend with the uniform, are free from markings and does not interfere with protective head gear

Accommodated Females and males do not have a minimum hair length though have a maximum bulk of 4 in., must be symmetrical, not touch the eyebrows in the front or cover the eyes

There are not instructions for religious accommodations for tattoo or piercings

Members may wear plain caps indoors in uniform due to medical conditions

Athletic shoes may be worn with OCP uniform with medical exemption

Bandanas, headgear or headscarves are only approved with a medical waiver

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Department of the Air Force 13 March 2024 Dress and Personal Appearance, Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-2903.              https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/dafi36-2903/dafi36-2903.pdf

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In the Joint Ethics Regulation (JER) preamble (2024) it lists four principles that DOD members should uphold which are duty, courage, honor, and respect. The principle of respect says we show respect to the constitution by exhibiting dignity, fairness, empathy, and compassion.  The regulation states “showing respect requires that we confront bias, discrimination, and prejudice in all forms”

As leaders we are held to a higher standard to uphold ethical standards. Biases and discrimination can be subconscious and unintentional, so it is our job to identify areas they exist and find ways to deviate from them. From the highest level of leadership, we should set a personal example because while we may be following all the standards and in legal compliance, it is an ethical decision to give more time and attention to a subordinate or push their awards package through.

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In an article by the Military Times titled Army denies soldier’s request to grow beard in observance of Flying Spaghetti Monster religion (Simpkins, 2019) it discusses how some faiths were granted religious accommodation while others did not qualify. In 2017 Sikh soldiers were allowed religious accommodations though did not change the DOD beard policy, and in 2018 a Heathen Norse Pagan soldier was granted accommodation as well. In 2019 one soldier applied for a beard exemption for his faith of Pastafarianism, belonging to the church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster however the Army Deputy Chief of Staff denied the request. The religion was denied because it was believed it was a sincerely held religion.

This article is a good example for leaders to consider when communicating to troops what is authorized, how exemptions work and the seriousness of standards. Although we want to make the process easy and free of discrimination for those who need it Leaders should also watch out for those who try to take advantage of the accommodations. Lower enlisted leaders do not need to be the ones to judge the credibility of a true religion to approve an exception though they can lead their troops to the practicality of the standards.

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Slide #13 Recommendations/ Best Practices for Compliance

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Slide #13 Recommendations/ Best Practices for Compliance

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To maintain a professional and disciplined force we need to uphold these legal and ethical standards, complying legally is not enough we need to ensure these standards are followed legally as leaders so we can maintain the integrity of the force.

The AFI is updated every few years as updates occur, as a leader supervisors should review the AFI and be familiar with the standards and at a minimum review the updated portions

Leaders should also be paying attention to proposals in the works with lawmakers as they have the potential to affect them and their troops as well as precedents made in other branches because they are likely to carry over into the Air Force.

There are mandatory trainings service members have to complete periodically, some are computer-based training and those more serious such as suicide prevention are an in-person class. Leadership ethics should be a mandatory in person training for all supervisors as they assume the role

As a leader when making decisions with our troops to hold them back, not give a recommendation we should ask whether or not it due to their performance or other factors that are playing into the decision such as the perception or how it will make you look as a supervisor

It would benefit airmen for Air Force command to research further into the correlation of career hinderance and dress and appearance accommodations

As a leader it is also imperative we ensure our troops are informed of the most update standard, so they are not being restricted from their 1st amendment rights or medical needs

As airmen go through leadership training to become an NCO, they should go through scenarios that explore practicing of cultures and faiths can come in many forms such as meeting in churches, praying at certain times, dressing a particular way, grooming practices (hair length, facial hair) or dietary habits